Wayne's World

Inside Casa De Shenandoah

Posted by Misnomer

Casa de Shenandoah, the sprawling 52-acre estate of Mr. Wayne F. Newton, takes its name from the Spanish "casa de" - meaning "house of", and the Indian word "shenandoah" - meaning "foreclosure". And while some of that is probably true, what is completely certain is that the house and surrounding grounds recently opened for public tours. I bought the ticket, took the ride, and here I share with you a glimpse into the life of the man they call "Mr. Las Vegas".

The tour begins in a visitor's center located a short distance from the estate. While waiting to be admitted to an ambitiously-sized theater (approximately 100 seats; there were 9 people in my tour group), you can view a number of items taken from the Aladdin hotel, in which Mr. Newton was once an owner.

After a short and genuinely interesting movie about Mr. Newton's time in Las Vegas, we were loaded onto a shuttle bus and driven to the estate. What many wonders lie beyond these gates? Spoiler: There's a monkey in there. Have I got your attention now?

The tour begins in a building adjacent to the faux airfield where Wayne's plane sits vainly on display. Also on display are many pieces of memorabilia related to Mr. Newton's USO work.

As the tour continues, you make your way through the exhibits and eventually end up aboard Wayne's plane. A short video explains how the plane was trucked to its current location from Detroit, but it makes little mention of the unpaid storage fees that precipitated the move. The tour guide explained that the entire interior of the plane, as shown here, was installed for the purpose of displaying it. The interior was apparently quite different when Mr. Newton was actually using the plane.

As the tour moves on, it pivots from planes to automobiles. Mr. Newton was fond of Rolls Royces.

Also on display in Mr. Newton's garage is this custom-built Mercedes. I'd like to think Mr. Newton's instructions to the car builder were, "I want you to start with the biggest set of headlights you can find, and just build the rest of the car around them." To the left you can see the Hummer that General Motors gave Mr. Newton, the last one ever produced.

Everyone's garage is packed with junk. Mine includes a 300 lb. tube television, and a box filled with water damaged issues of Cat Fancy magazine. Mr. Newton is no different in his accumulation of random things; his garage contains his childhood bicycle, a bass drum, the canoe used in the movie On Golden Pond, and a settee from the movie Gone With The Wind. Wayne's junk is better than mine.

Just off the garage is a room filled with Mr. Newton's costumes. I did not touch them.

"A singer's body is his instrument, and I believe in keeping my instrument finely tuned."

More costumes. Terrifying clown paintings. I didn't understand the connection, and I didn't ask.

Comments & Discussion:

Posted by Chuckmonster on Thursday, 19th November 2015 1:03pm:

Posted by anawas on Thursday, 19th November 2015 1:40pm:

That's some serious shade being thrown at the parrot. And the bird freakin' deserves it.

Anyway, cool tour. Cooler write-up. Feels like I was there. As such: I can save my $49, stay on the Strip and pay extra for my Bellagio booze. #Priorities

Posted by rsauve on Thursday, 19th November 2015 1:44pm:

"Gorgeous pool table"

But why is there a stripper pole on the kitchen counter? I mean besides the obvious reason that strip clubs with stages are better than strip clubs without stages.

Posted by Misnomer on Thursday, 19th November 2015 2:49pm:

I was in a movie called "The Biggest Set of Headlights You Can Find".

Posted by JohnH on Thursday, 19th November 2015 5:20pm:

I was in a movie called "Everyone's Garage is Packed with Junk."

Posted by vespajet on Thursday, 19th November 2015 5:34pm:

I'm guessing Mike Tyson's peacocks got tired of the bullshit they were getting from his pigeons.....

Posted by mikefromroseville on Thursday, 19th November 2015 5:45pm:

that Burt Reynolds picture has inspired me to send autographed photos to friends and family and bitch if its not posted in their house. Great article misnomer, as always.

Posted by donnymac66 on Thursday, 19th November 2015 9:03pm:

RobbieNomi was in a movie called Wayne's Man Cave

Posted by detroit1051 on Friday, 20th November 2015 12:12pm:

I hope you didn't breathe in any of the black mold in the plane. Maybe that's why everything is covered in ugly plastic.
http://gadling.com/2010/02/06/las-vegas-singer-in-hot-water-over-abandoned-moldy-rotting-priva/

Posted by Butler on Saturday, 21st November 2015 12:55pm:

Plastic fruit

Posted by Spyder on Monday, 23rd November 2015 1:40pm:

RobbieNomi was also in a movie called "Plastic Fruit"

Posted by RockChickX51 on Tuesday, 1st December 2015 11:26am:

The entire house is so "OMG" for real. I want to go to this next time I'm out there.
That Mercedes tho.....could the man not see at night!? And I like that they have a separate Visitor's Center for the joint. Did it really need that? And is the giant bronze eagle in the lobby for sale? I feel like I need that over the garage of my house.

Posted by davidchoust on Thursday, 3rd December 2015 9:05am:

I'm just wondering where is Wayne while you tour his house? :)

Posted by blissfulignoramus on Thursday, 3rd December 2015 4:06pm:

This was a perfect review, but I have one quibble:

No shatphone?

Posted by kayday on Wednesday, 9th December 2015 11:07am:

I was in a movie where I sang the song "Wayne's plane sits vainly on display."

Posted by Ricogreen on Friday, 1st January 2016 6:05pm:

I just came back from a Vegas vacation that included a vist to Casa De Shenandoah. It was a really fun time, the tour did take around 3 hours but it's filled with great Las Vegas memorabilia. I would really recommend this tour for Vegas aficionados and Wayniacs.